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Oil-spill experts discuss BP's response

Published: Friday, June 11, 2010 at 9:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, June 11, 2010 at 9:01 a.m.

BATON ROUGE — With 7,700 miles of winding coast to protect, keeping millions of gallons of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill out of Louisiana's marshes seems overwhelming for responders. But a collection of scientists said Thursday that our environment may be more resilient than people expect.

Oil-spill experts from Louisiana State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discussed their cleanup ideas on the last day of the State of the Coast conference in Baton Rouge, which brought together scientists, government officials, nonprofits and private companies to discuss the future of Louisiana's coast.

“There's a lot of talk about the whole Gulf dying, but the truth is that there's a significant amount of oil entering the Gulf every year through a process of natural seepage,” said Ed Overton, a marine-toxicology researcher at LSU. “I suggest we give Mother Nature a chance to deal with this.”

Though many have cited the Exxon Valdez spill as a worst-case scenario, Overton said that much of the environment was able to bounce back after three years. That's because oil changes over time from the toxic, sticky stuff we're battling to tar balls, which are “more of a nuisance.”

If “we don't do anything stupid, the oil in the environment will be degraded,” Overton said.

It is impossible to boom off all Louisiana's exposed coastline, a distance equal to two and a half trips from Los Angeles to New York, he said, suggesting workers should instead concentrate on offshore waters.

“My strategy would be skim baby, skim, using mechanical suction and skimming to collect as much oil offshore as possible,” he said.

Dispersants could be used to break-up some oil, he said.

While dispersants are toxic chemicals, their controlled use is a generally-accepted strategy for breaking down oil, said David M. Kennedy, who's been heading spill-response efforts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dispersants are used to keep great volumes of oil from winding up on beaches and in marshes.

This is the first time that large amounts have been used under water, and that is creating concern among scientists.

Overton said he also supports using suction tanks to collect oil in shallow waters, and he approves of a plan announced by Gov. Bobby Jindal that would use dredges to deploy those tanks to oil-affected marshes.

Greg Stone, director of LSU's Coastal Studies Institute, said he has some concerns about berms being built off parts of the coast. The berms, made from sand dredged from bays and the Gulf, will fill in gaps between barrier islands to block the oil.

Stone said dredging from these shallow areas near shore — like Terrebonne's Ship Shoal, a sand deposit off the Isle Dernieres islands where some sand is to be taken — will increase wave energy and size. That is a concern, he said, especially if a storm targets Louisiana.

Instead, Stone suggests pumping sediment into shallow cuts between islands, as well as closing them with sand bags and booms.

That's been done successfully on shorelines in Lafourche and Jefferson parish to keep oil out of interior wetlands.

Irving Mendelssohn, a wetlands professor with LSU, said marshes will survive the spill if their roots are not coated in oil.

Cleanup crews may be doing more harm, he said, by pushing oil into the roots.

But repeated contamination is equally damaging. That could be the case if predictions hold true that the oil will continue its inland trek through the summer.

“What we have here is something that's overwhelmed us all,” Kennedy said.

<p>BATON ROUGE — With 7,700 miles of winding coast to protect, keeping millions of gallons of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill out of Louisiana's marshes seems overwhelming for responders. But a collection of scientists said Thursday that our environment may be more resilient than people expect. </p><p>Oil-spill experts from Louisiana State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discussed their cleanup ideas on the last day of the State of the Coast conference in Baton Rouge, which brought together scientists, government officials, nonprofits and private companies to discuss the future of Louisiana's coast.</p><p>“There's a lot of talk about the whole Gulf dying, but the truth is that there's a significant amount of oil entering the Gulf every year through a process of natural seepage,” said Ed Overton, a marine-toxicology researcher at LSU. “I suggest we give Mother Nature a chance to deal with this.”</p><p>Though many have cited the Exxon Valdez spill as a worst-case scenario, Overton said that much of the environment was able to bounce back after three years. That's because oil changes over time from the toxic, sticky stuff we're battling to tar balls, which are “more of a nuisance.”</p><p>If “we don't do anything stupid, the oil in the environment will be degraded,” Overton said.</p><p>It is impossible to boom off all Louisiana's exposed coastline, a distance equal to two and a half trips from Los Angeles to New York, he said, suggesting workers should instead concentrate on offshore waters.</p><p>“My strategy would be skim baby, skim, using mechanical suction and skimming to collect as much oil offshore as possible,” he said.</p><p>Dispersants could be used to break-up some oil, he said. </p><p>While dispersants are toxic chemicals, their controlled use is a generally-accepted strategy for breaking down oil, said David M. Kennedy, who's been heading spill-response efforts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dispersants are used to keep great volumes of oil from winding up on beaches and in marshes. </p><p>This is the first time that large amounts have been used under water, and that is creating concern among scientists.</p><p>Overton said he also supports using suction tanks to collect oil in shallow waters, and he approves of a plan announced by Gov. Bobby Jindal that would use dredges to deploy those tanks to oil-affected marshes.</p><p>Greg Stone, director of LSU's Coastal Studies Institute, said he has some concerns about berms being built off parts of the coast. The berms, made from sand dredged from bays and the Gulf, will fill in gaps between barrier islands to block the oil.</p><p>Stone said dredging from these shallow areas near shore — like Terrebonne's Ship Shoal, a sand deposit off the Isle Dernieres islands where some sand is to be taken — will increase wave energy and size. That is a concern, he said, especially if a storm targets Louisiana.</p><p>Instead, Stone suggests pumping sediment into shallow cuts between islands, as well as closing them with sand bags and booms. </p><p>That's been done successfully on shorelines in Lafourche and Jefferson parish to keep oil out of interior wetlands.</p><p>Irving Mendelssohn, a wetlands professor with LSU, said marshes will survive the spill if their roots are not coated in oil. </p><p>Cleanup crews may be doing more harm, he said, by pushing oil into the roots. </p><p>But repeated contamination is equally damaging. That could be the case if predictions hold true that the oil will continue its inland trek through the summer.</p><p>“What we have here is something that's overwhelmed us all,” Kennedy said.</p>